The 8 Best High School Anime Series to Start the Year Off Right

The school year has just begun, and soon you’ll have to worry about pop quizzes, homework, and final exams. When you get home, you’ll need something to help you destress. What better way to relax than by watching an anime that you can actually relate to?

High school anime can make your school day more entertaining, and can even give you a heavy dose of nostalgia if you’ve already graduated. These popular high school anime can definitely brighten up the school year!

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1. Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club is probably the most well-known high school anime for its wacky plot and constant humor. The story follows Haruhi Fujioka, a student at the distinguished Ouran Academy.

When she tries to find a new spot to study, she comes across the Third Music Room, where the Ouran High School Host Club is based. This club specializes in catering to female guests—they engage them in conversation over a cup of tea.

After Haruhi accidentally breaks one of the host club’s most expensive vases, she has to figure out a way to repay them. Since the members of the club mistake the tomboyish Haruhi for a boy, she gets roped into becoming a host as a way to pay back her debt.

2. Nichijou– My Ordinary Life

Nichijou is a slice of life anime that centers around the lives of high school friends in Tokisadame. The bubbly and feisty personalities of Mio Nagonohara and Yuko Aioi are countered by the subdued nature of Mai Minakami. The show also stars Nano Shinonome, a robot student built by an eight-year-old professor.

The show’s name “Nichijou” means “everyday” in Japanese. It might sound like a typical high school anime, but it definitely doesn’t conform to any of the cliches of a standard school-themed anime. In each episode, you can expect to see the characters’ seemingly typical lives get interrupted by strange occurrences.

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3. The Irregular at Magic High School

Want to escape the reality of boring high school life? You should dive into The Irregular at Magic High School. This anime is based in an alternate universe where actual magicians live among regular humans. In this world, not everyone has magic powers—only some people are lucky enough to inherit the magic gene.

Magicians in Japan are required to attend one of the country’s nine magic high schools. Each school trains magicians in a different style of magic. The main character, Tatsuya Shiba, acts as his sister Miyuki’s bodyguard. Miyuki is known as the best magician in school, while Tatsuya’s technical abilities make him an outcast.

4. Toradora

If you’re looking for a great high school-themed romantic comedy, you should check out Toradora. The show revolves around two students, Ryuuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka. In fact, the show’s title is actually a combination of the two characters’ names.

Unlike most high school boys, Ryuuji is good-natured and enjoys doing housework. However, he has a menacing face that intimidates everyone around him. Taiga has a similar problem—she resembles a timid-looking doll, but she’s actually super aggressive.

What happens when these two opposite personalities collide? You’ll have to watch Toradora to find out.

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5. Angel Beats

Angel Beats is only 13 episodes long, but it’s worth every minute. This unconventional anime is set in a high school full of dead students—only, the students aren’t zombies.

These students attend a school in the afterlife. In order to get reincarnated, they must first get past the traumatic events that happened in their previous life.

The protagonist, Yuzuru Otonashi, lands in the afterlife with amnesia. He soon gets invited to join the Afterlife Battlefront (SSS), an organization created by Yuri Nakamura. The SSS fights against the God that made them suffer in life.

6. School Rumble

School Rumble concerns the high school life of Tenma Tsukamoto. She’s just an average student, but she has a crush on one of her classmates, Oji Karasuma. She has trouble telling Oji how she feels, and Oji remains clueless to her obvious crush—he would rather just eat curry anyway.

Meanwhile, Tenma has her own admirer. Kenji Harima only goes to school just to see Tenma, and he also struggles with confessing his love. When he tries to make the big reveal, something always happens to interrupt him. The complex love triangle leaves plenty of room for humor and fun.

7. Haikyuu

You don’t have to be a huge fan of sports to watch Haikyuu. Its satisfying storyline will rope you in almost immediately. The anime follows Hinata Shouyou, a middle school student that develops a liking for volleyball after watching a competition on TV. Although this anime starts in middle school, it eventually progresses to high school life.

Hinata decides to pursue his dreams by joining his school’s volleyball club, only to find out that he’s the only one who joined the club. He ends up recruiting five other players, making his team eligible to compete in tournaments. Will the team have what it takes to defeat other schools?

8. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Code Geass takes place in an alternate history that pits the Holy Britannia Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the European Union against each other. The exiled prince of the Britannia Empire, Lelouch Lamperouge, gets enrolled at Ashford Academy and promises to bring down Britannia. However, the school isn’t the center of this show.

When an enigmatic girl, C.C., grants Lelouch a power called Geass, he becomes one step closer to overthrowing the kingdom. This power allows Lelouch to control anyone and force them to do whatever he wants. He can only activate this power when people make direct eye contact with him.

Anime Makes the School Year Zoom By

When you’re not studying, take a break and watch one of the above anime. They’ll distract your mind from whatever drama or stress is taking place inside the classroom.

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